


blood moon

by sxftmelody



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, F/F, Ghouls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 08:21:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16719795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sxftmelody/pseuds/sxftmelody
Summary: A beach house vacation? Jinsol could deal with that.A creepy vampire waitress? Jinsol... yeah, no, Jinsol's not sure about that one.—In which Sooyoung bites off a little more than she can chew.





	blood moon

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this when i was fourteen and now i'm eighteen and i've gone through and changed the characters and edited some things, so forgive me if there are any typos. i hope you enjoy!

 

**_Blood Moon_ **

  
—  
  


Jinsol sits, squished in between the two younger ones who are bouncing around to the beat of the music that booms through the car’s speakers, and tries to focus on the view she can see through the windshield. 

 

She isn’t at all a fan of vacations, but when her friends showed up to her house with their suitcases all prepared, what could she have done?

 

Of course, Jinsol’s parents had said ‘yes’. The five of them have been friends for a few years now and their families are all close—Jinsol would even go as far as considering all of them her sisters. But, sisters or not, Jinsol dislikes the beach. And the beach is exactly where they’re headed. Vivi’s the one who got the invitation to this ‘vacation without parents’. Her close friend’s family owns it and has allowed Vivi to bring her friends along.

 

“This is so exciting!” Jiwoo says through her wide smile as Vivi lowers the volume of the music. Jinsol hums and reaches forward to try and adjust the air conditioning. It’s steaming hot outside and the more Jiwoo and Jungeun jump around, the hotter it gets  _ inside  _ the car. Unfortunately, her arms aren’t long enough to reach the dashboard.

 

Jinsol can feel the sweat begin to accumulate on her forehead. Her jean shorts are already sticking to the bottom of her thighs. Jinsol brings a hand up and begins to fan herself, using the other hand to tap Haseul on the shoulder. The brown haired girl turns in her seat.

 

“Could you turn the A/C up, please?” Jinsol asks. 

 

Haseul smiles and nods before she presses a couple buttons on the car’s dashboard. The cool air immediately hits Jinsol with a tad bit more strength and she mumbles a quick thank you to the younger girl up front. Vivi moves the rearview mirror, eyes focused on everything all at once. Jiwoo sticks her forehead to the car window, eyeing the bare land.

 

“Where are we right now?” the youngest one questions curiously. Jinsol turns her head to look out the window Jiwoo’s looking out of, seeing nothing but desert. Now that Jinsol thinks about it, they haven’t seen another sign of life for almost an hour. 

 

(Unless you count the dead fox they saw at the side of the road thirty minutes ago.)

 

Vivi shrugs nonchalantly, “Somewhere.” 

 

Haseul quirks an eyebrow.

 

“That’s reassuring,” she deadpans, a hint of amusement in her words.

 

The driver rolls her eyes, “Calm down. This isn’t the first time I’ve driven to Hyunjin’s beach house, alright? We have to go through this mini desert thing to get there,” she explains.

 

Vivi’s reassurance does nothing to calm the queasy feeling that’s formed in Jinsol’s chest, but it sure does for the other three girls, who all begin to talk at the same time. The blonde one takes a deep breath and tries to remind herself to let loose and have a little fun. 

 

—

 

When the sun begins to set, Jiwoo and Jungeun’s energy level go down with it. Haseul snickers as she looks back towards Jinsol. The sight’s enough to make anyone smile. Jiwoo has curled up into a ball with her head on Jinsol’s thigh meanwhile Jungeun’s head rests upon Jinsol’s shoulder. 

 

“Having fun back there, Jinsol?” Haseul teases, quiet enough not to wake the two girls. Jinsol scowls. 

 

Vivi hums lowly as she continues down the road. Her eyes peek down towards the car’s front dashboard and she whistles.

 

The moon has started to come out. 

 

“We might have a problem,” Vivi says.

 

Jinsol’s stomach tightens, “What do you mean?” she asks worriedly.

 

Vivi pulls over to the side of the road. 

 

(Though she doesn’t really need to, considering the absence of any other human life on the street.)

 

“Low gas,” Vivi answers.

 

Haseul peers over, “So, what do we do?”

 

Vivi then smiles proudly, “I came prepared.” 

 

Jinsol’s chest feels cold, “How so?” 

 

Vivi unlocks her seatbelt and opens the car door, the hot air from outside coming in. 

 

“I brought an extra gas can,” she says before shutting the door and walking to the back of the car, opening the trunk. Jinsol feels Jiwoo stir, her hands moving up to her face as she rubs her eyes.

 

“Why did we stop?” the youngest asks, “Are we here?”

 

“No, we aren’t,” Jinsol replies. She pats Jiwoo’s head, “Go back to sleep.”

 

Jiwoo breathes deeply and nods, “Okay.” 

 

She turns over and buries her face into Jinsol’s waist. Haseul sighs and opens her car door. 

 

“My legs are  _ killing  _ me.” She gets out of the car and stretches. Jinsol just plays with Jiwoo’s hair, waiting for the two girls to get back into the car so they can be on their way again. Jinsol’s already known for being paranoid and overly worried about every little thing, but something about this whole trip just feels  _ off _ . She gulps down the lump in her throat as the two enter the car again. Vivi speaks.

 

“The gas will last us long enough to get to a gas station nearby.”

 

“And if it doesn’t?” Jinsol replies.

 

Vivi shrugs, “Then we call Hyunjin and send out an S.O.S.”

 

—

 

“Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey.” A voice stirs Jinsol out of her slumber. The girl opens her eyes and blinks a couple times to get her vision straight. Jungeun shrugs the shoulder Jinsol was resting her head on. “Morning.”

 

Jinsol groans, looking around.

 

“Where are we?” It’s dark outside, so dark that Jinsol can barely make out where they are. The dimly lit words ‘Gas and Diner!’ show up enough for her to assume they’re at a diner, which includes a gas station. 

 

Jungeun tugs on Jinsol’s hand, “Come on.” 

 

Jinsol can feel the soreness in her legs as she stands up, stretching. Jiwoo gets out from behind her.

 

“I’m starving,” she grumbles. Vivi rolls her eyes and Jinsol sticks close to Jungeun, using the younger girl as a heat source. 

 

“We only have, like, a couple hours left to drive. Can’t you wait until we get there?”

 

Haseul softly nudges Vivi, “Hey, we can take a small break. Let’s all get something to eat,” she suggests, giving a small smile. 

 

The older one sighs, “Alright. Let’s go get something to eat and then leave. This place is so deserted it gives me goosebumps.”

 

The five friends enter the small diner, the waft of food hitting them immediately. Jiwoo’s eyes light up as they walk towards one of the booths, hands grabbing at the menu. Jinsol looks around, scanning the small building with both hands still holding onto Jungeun. She sees a young girl—someone no younger than her—walk out from behind a door with a smile on her face. 

 

For some reason, the smile seems  _ too  _ friendly. It gives Jinsol’s stomach a quick flip—and  _ not  _ the good kind.

 

Vivi gives a light slap to Jiwoo’s thigh, “I’m not made of money, Kim Jiwoo. Go easy.”

 

“I  _ know _ ,” Jiwoo replies with a smile as the waitress walks up to them. 

 

“Welcome! Would you like to order yet?” 

 

Jinsol analyzes the girl. 

 

Her eyes seem focused on  _ something _ . Jinsol just isn’t sure  _ what _ . It looks like she’s just looking at her friends, but to her, it seems to be something a little deeper than that. The waitress’ hair is brown, like Haseul’s. Her eyes are dark brown and her features are sharp and defined. Jungeun squeezes her hand.

 

“Jinsol, are you gonna eat anything?”

 

With the attention on her, the waitress’ eyes turn to look at her. A chill runs down Jinsol’s spine. Feeling uneasy, she shakes her head, “I’m fine.”

 

The waitress cocks her head, eyes changing slightly. It’s like she can sense Jinsol’s displeasure. 

 

“We have a really  _ killer  _ cheeseburger,” the waitress says with a smile, her teeth pearly white. 

 

Jinsol shakes her head once again, “I’m not hungry.”

 

“Suit yourself,” Vivi shrugs. 

 

The rest of her friends order their food and she sits, her leg bouncing up and down in nervousness. She tells herself to calm down and not to overthink things, but that waitress is just…  _ creepy _ . Plus, with it being nearly two in the morning, the darkness does not help ease any of Jinsol’s tension.

 

When their food comes out, all the girls dig in. The hand that Jinsol had been holding onto had slipped away in order to grab at a hamburger. 

 

She clutches her own hands, nose scrunching in disgust for some reason. She doesn’t like this place. Not at all.

 

“This is so good,” Jiwoo mumbles with a mouthful. Jinsol eyes all the food on the table, heart nearly beating out of her chest. She stands from the booth, unable to take it. 

 

“I’m going to wait in the car,” she announces, though her friends seem too busy with the food to even acknowledge her. She huffs and takes the car keys from the table, hurrying out. 

 

She’s stopped when the waitress speaks to her just before she can get out of the door, “Could you please help me?”

 

Jinsol freezes in her steps and turns her head, “What?”

 

“I have something I need to do in the back but I need—“

 

“Don’t you have another worker to help you? I’m not a worker here.” Jinsol’s scared now.

 

“I  _ said _ ,” the waitress stares at Jinsol with a little less friendliness, “I. Need. Help.” She enunciates each word. Jinsol’s about to refuse once again until she sees the girl’s eyes flash bright red. Her blood runs cold, rapid heartbeat pounding in her eardrums. Jinsol attempts to console herself and tries to come up with a list of reasons why the  _ hell  _ someone’s eyes would flash bright red like that, but to no use. Whatever this waitress is, Jinsol knows she has no chance of running away. And she can’t just leave her friends. She takes in a shaky breath and walks towards the waitress, whose eyes quickly turn back to a normal shade of brown.

 

_ What the hell? _

 

“Thanks,” the waitress says in that eerie voice of hers. 

 

Jinsol doesn’t reply as they walk towards the door where the waitress had come out of in the first place. 

 

When Jinsol walks in, the brunette walks back out, shooting a quick, “Stay right here,” over her shoulder. 

 

Petrified, Jinsol stands still, waiting for the girl’s return. She comes back after a few minutes, the door opening with a slam. Once the swinging door stops moving from behind her, the waitress appears in front of her and pops Jinsol’s personal bubble. 

 

“What the hell are you?” she asks.

 

Jinsol’s eyes widen as she tries to take a step back, failing as the girl grabs her wrist, keeping her in place, “W—What? What are you talking about?”

 

“You know what I am, don’t you?” the girl tilts her head, seeming all  _ too  _ innocent.

 

Jinsol has never felt more confused and terrified at the same time in all of her life, “I—I don’t know… What are—“

 

Her eyes flash bright red again and she bares her teeth. Jinsol’s breath hitches as she sees sharp fangs. 

 

“Stop playing innocent,” she demands, “ _ What are you _ ?”

 

The other girl tries to push away, “I don’t know what you’re talking about! Let me go!” 

 

The grip on Jinsol’s wrist only tightens, causing her to whimper. 

 

“I could bite you right now, but I think your blood will kill me. So, I guess ripping your limbs off will do.” 

 

Jinsol stops struggling against her, wide eyes staring into the red ones staring at her with hatred in them. 

 

(She wants to punch herself for thinking that the girl is much prettier up close. Now was  _ not  _ the time for such thoughts.)

 

“Unless,” the brunette raises an eyebrow, “you tell me what you are and who sent you.”

 

Jinsol, although still scared out of her mind, is getting fed up with this eerily pretty waitress. 

 

“I told you already,” she grits her teeth, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“Who sent you?”

 

“I’m on vacation with my friends and we’re going to a beach house,” Jinsol narrows her eyes, “Speaking of my friends, they should be done eating by now. Will you let me go?”

 

The girl lets out a scoff and releases Jinsol, “Go. Check on your friends.” 

 

Jinsol rubs her red wrist and turns to walk out towards the door. She gasps when the brunette appears in front of her within a split second, “Just a heads-up, they didn’t finish eating.”

 

Jinsol’s heart begins to race quicker, “What did you do to them?”

 

“I did nothing,” she shrugs, “They ate the food themselves. Question is, why didn’t you  _ stop  _ them?”

 

“Stop them? They were  _ hungry _ , why would I stop them?”

 

“Because you knew all along that the food had blood in it, didn’t you? Why did you let them eat it?”

 

Jinsol snaps, “What are you talking about?!”

 

“You’re special,” she says, “I can smell it.”

 

Jinsol sneers, “Smell my ass, then.” 

 

The brunette shows her fangs again, but Jinsol’s more annoyed than scared by now. 

 

“Let me see my friends,” Jinsol says.

 

The taller one steps aside and Jinsol shoves past her. She’s greeted to an empty diner, and an even emptier diner. Jinsol turns on her heels, only to feel a breeze pass by and a voice whisper into her ear from behind, “They’re not here.”

 

Jinsol turns, “Where are they? What did you do to them?” 

 

The brunette smiles.

 

“Remember?  _ I _ didn’t do anything.” 

 

The smile on her face is getting less and less attractive the more Jinsol sees it. 

 

“Where are they?”

 

“Wanna see?” she asks. Jinsol nods, but then she hesitates once the brunette begins to walk. Should she really follow her? 

 

“Don’t even  _ think  _ about running,” the girl laughs, “the cells are this way.”

 

At the word ‘cells’, Jinsol’s fingers curl into a tight fist. She follows the brunette girl, watching as she moves an old jukebox out of the way, revealing a hidden staircase. Jinsol follows her down multiple sets of stairs until they’ve reached the bottom. 

 

The brunette girl’s red eyes glimmer in the pitch black. 

 

“You can’t see anything, can you?” the taller girl asks in amusement, “Sucks being human, doesn’t it? Oh wait. You  _ aren’t _ .”

 

Jinsol’s bring goes wild at the thought of her not being human. What the hell was she, then? 

 

“If I’m not human, then what am I?”

 

“Oh God, have you always been such a good actress?”

 

“I’m not fucking acting!” Jinsol growls, stepping closer to the brunette and shoving her shoulders, “What the fuck are you on about?!”

 

The waitress chuckles, though her eyes have narrowed at the aggressive push Jinsol had just given her, “We’re vampires.”

 

“Wh… What?” Jinsol stumbles back.

 

“I—Jinsol?” It’s Jungeun. Jinsol can recognize that voice anywhere. She gasps and turns around.

 

“ _ Jungeun! _ Jungeun! Where are you?” Jinsol reaches her arms out in front of her and walks towards the girl’s voice, relieved that her friends are at least  _ alive _ . Her hands find cold cell bars.

 

“Jinsol… I—I can see you perfectly fine… Can’t you see me?” 

 

Her voice sounds confused.

 

That’s when it sinks into Jinsol’s brain. She clenches her jaw. 

 

“You  _ turned  _ them?!” she turns her head and yells into the darkness, knowing that the brunette girl is there  _ somewhere _ . She looks for red eyes, but can’t see anything.

 

“Why would you do that?!” She can feel her veins throbbing. She can’t see anything, but she can hear footsteps and shuffling. She can  _ sense  _ the brunette girl in front of her.

 

“I needed more people in my pack. I was the last of us.” 

 

Jinsol’s pissed. 

 

“We’re all only students. Jiwoo… Jiwoo and Jungeun are only eighteen,” she speaks through her teeth.

 

“Jinsol? I’m scared…” There’s a sniffle. “What’s going on?” It’s Jiwoo this time.

 

“Everything’s fine, Jiwoo,” Jinsol tries to comfort the youngest.

 

“And she’ll stay eighteen for the rest of her life.” Bright red eyes show up in front of Jinsol, who stares straight back at them. “If only I could turn  _ you…  _ I could use a tough nut with me.”

 

“I’m hungry…” 

 

That’s Haseul.

 

Jinsol just needs to hear Vivi’s voice to make sure they’re all alright.

 

“You just ate.” 

 

There she is.

 

The brunette’s red eyes dim, “It’s starting.”

 

“What?” Jinsol asks, “What’s starting? What’s going on? I still can’t see anything.”

 

“They’d burn into ashes if any light source came down here. They’re fragile at this state.” Her voice is less creepy now, “They’re getting hungry… I need to get animals for them. I need to fully transform them.”

 

“No!” Jinsol grabs the brunette, “Don’t do it! Don’t turn them! Please!” 

 

She’s begging now. The girl shoves Jinsol off, teeth baring, “It’s too late. They already ate the blood. If I don’t give them something to eat then they’ll just die.”

 

Jinsol starts to tear up, shaking her head, “You’re fucked in the brain.”

 

Jinsol can  _ feel  _ the smile on the brunette’s face as she speaks, “Then that makes two of us.” 

 

—

 

Jinsol sits on the cold concrete floor in front of the cells—which she still can’t see—and waits for the return of the brunette girl. For all she knows, this could all be some kind of sick prank and really, they’re all doomed to die in this basement as the brunette would never return. 

 

Jinsol sighs, realizing that there’s no use in blinking because nothing in her vision changes. It’s pitch black. 

 

The blonde girl sits in silence, assuming that all of the other girls are asleep.

 

She should get some sleep as well but her brain’s up and running, making it impossible to even  _ think  _ about getting some rest.

 

Suddenly, Jinsol hears a yelp of pain. She stands up, head snapping towards the sound. It had been Jiwoo, knowing that Jiwoo’s cell was on the far right side. 

 

“Jiwoo? What’s wrong, Jiwoo?”

 

There’s no response, only a groan. But it isn’t from Jiwoo.

 

“Jungeun?”

 

“What’s happening?” Haseul questions, voice muffled as if she had her hands holding her face. Jiwoo starts to breath heavily.

 

“Guys…” Vivi trails off, sounding out of breath. Jinsol gasps and takes a step back as one pair of yellow eyes begin to light up each cell. It was like a screwed up version of a Christmas tree. Jinsol’s vision begins to blur with tears at the sight. 

 

“What.. What happened?” Jiwoo looks at Jinsol, seeing the panic in her face. She turns to look at the other girls and gasps, “J—Jungeun… You have yellow eyes…”

 

Jungeun gulps, “You do, too.”

 

“You all do,” Jinsol states, taking a step back. She sits back down, pulling her knees close to her chest. 

 

“What… What are we?” Vivi asks. 

 

“Vampires.” It’s the brunette’s voice, “Get up. I brought food.” 

 

Jinsol can hear scampers of small paws across metal cages before she can hear her friends standing up from their spots in the cells. She stays put on the ground. A foot nudges her, “Move.”

 

“Fuck you,” Jinsol hisses. 

 

“Such vulgar language,” the brunette clicks her tongue, “Don’t make me break every bone in your body.” 

 

“If you wanted to kill me then you already would’ve,” Jinsol snaps back. Red eyes flare. 

 

“You’re right.” The brunette drops the cages in her arms. She leans close to Jinsol and the girl can feel the brunette’s breath on her earlobe, “Only because I  _ really  _ want you in my pack.” 

 

Jinsol pushes her away.

 

The taller one straightens her back, “I just need to find a way to turn you, seeing as biting and blood eating won’t work.”

 

“I don’t want to turn.”

 

“Well, your friends have already. You’ll be the only one in the friend group to grow old and die. Wouldn’t that be sad?” Her voice takes on a pitiful tone, but Jinsol knows she’s smirking. The brunette turns and grabs one cage, walking towards Jiwoo’s cell. 

 

“What is that?” Jiwoo asks, scared of the creature.

 

“A fox. Ever seen one?” The brunette replies in amusement.

 

“A dead one…”

 

“Well, you’ll be  _ killing  _ this one, so it’s not much of a difference.” The vampire tosses the cage into the cell, “Have fun. Try not to get too much fur in your mouth.”

 

“She’s just a kid!” Jinsol yells out, shocking all of her friends but only making the brunette girl laugh. 

 

“She’s  _ eighteen _ ,” the red eyes turned to look at her, “that’s barely a kid.”

 

“How old are  _ you _ ?” Jinsol asks, watching the eyes grow larger as the brunette gets closer.

 

“Me? I’m a few hundred years old. No biggie.” 

 

“Jiwoo would never hurt a fly… How do you expect her to kill that fox?” Jinsol clenches her jaw. The brunette grabs another cage and heads towards Jungeun’s cell. 

 

“She’s gonna have to unless she wants to die painfully. The vampire blood is already running through her veins. If she doesn’t get animal or human blood in her soon, the vampire blood will overtake her entirely,” she tosses the cage, making Jungeun flinch, “so she better drink up.”

 

She throws the other cages into Haseul and Vivi’s cells, “They  _ all  _ better drink up,” she says, loud and clear. Jiwoo looks up at the brunette, eyes bright yellow.

 

“H—How?” she asks. Jinsol grits her teeth.

 

“The neck,” the brunette answers, “hold the animal down and bite the neck.”

 

“I can’t do it,” Jungeun shakes her head violently.

 

“You’d rather die?” the red eyed girl hisses. Jungeun nods. 

 

“Yes.”

 

The brunette sits down next to Jinsol, laughing, “Suit yourself.”

 

A pained squeal comes from the cell at the far left. 

 

Jinsol hears the brunette chuckling besides her, “That one’s already feeding. At least I have one out of four.” 

 

Jinsol tries not to get angry at Vivi for killing the fox. She knows that it’s a do or die. The brunette nudges Jinsol, “Are you not gonna persuade your other friends to drink? They’re gonna die in about half an hour if not.”

 

Jinsol still can’t see anything, but she can hear the slightest whimper coming from Vivi’s cell. It’s coming from Vivi, who’s started to shuffle around on the dirty concrete floor before sitting with her back against the wall, crying.

 

“Jinsol?” Haseul whispers. 

 

Jinsol stands, turning and looking for the staircase so she could leave, but it’s black everywhere. All she can see are four pairs of yellow eyes and one pair of red eyes. 

 

There’s nowhere to go.

 

… 

 

She stops her pacing and looks at the red eyes, “Try.”

 

“Excuse me?” the brunette quirks an eyebrow.

 

“Try me. Try to turn me.”

 

“And risk losing my own life? No way,” the brunette says in amusement. Jinsol grows frustrated. She wants to stay with her friends. She doesn’t want to be the only one who dies, “Do you know for sure that my blood will kill you?”

 

“No. But I’m not— “

 

Jinsol grabs the back of the girl’s neck and pulled her closer, towards her own neck, “Then,  _ try _ !” Jinsol commands, “Do it!” she yells in desperation. The brunette holds Jinsol’s waist. 

 

“I’m not about to die trying to turn you,” her breath’s cold against Jinsol’s neck, pushing her away, “Have your friend try to turn you, instead. Seeing as she won’t feed off of the fox.” 

 

The brunette leads Jinsol to Jungeun’s cell. 

 

“Don’t drain her,” the brunette instructs the younger one. Jinsol nearly trips over the cage the fox is in until she feels Jungeun grab onto her. She gasps at the lack of body heat that the younger girl had. 

 

“Go on,” the brunette stands by the cell door, watching, “Try her.”

 

“Jinsol…” Jinsol’s close enough to see Jungeun’s face, close enough to see the tears filling those glowing yellow eyes, “I don’t.. I don’t want to hurt you.” 

 

“She’ll moan eventually,” the brunette states. 

 

Jinsol turns, “What?”

 

“Our saliva is full of endorphins that gives pleasure. It not only makes the bite less painful, but the chemicals keeps the blood flowing as we drink it.”

 

“It won’t hurt?” Jungeun asks. 

 

“Oh, it  _ will _ ,” the brunette replies, making Jinsol’s heart race, “It’ll hurt a lot at first, but it’ll feel good after the first initial suck of blood.” 

 

“Are all vampires  _ this  _ sexual?” Jinsol questions. 

 

The brunette smirks and Jinsol had no idea how she knew that she did, but she knew, “Yes.”

 

Jinsol turns her head to focus on Jungeun’s eyes which have begun to flicker between brightness levels. 

 

“Time’s running out. You all better feed soon,” the brunette says to Jiwoo and Haseul, though her eyes are still focused on Jungeun, “Go.”

 

Jungeun hesitates, but Jinsol coaxes her closer, wrapping her hands around the back of her neck.

 

“Going slow will hurt her less. You have to be careful. Don’t let the blood lust get to your brain. You’ll kill her,” the brunette warns Jungeun, who has her eyes on Jinsol’s neck vein, “Go ahead.”

 

Jungeun shakily places her hands on Jinsol’s waist, pulling her closer as she lowers her mouth onto the girl’s smooth skin. Jinsol feels the tip of Jungeun’s sharp fangs scraping across the neck. She gulps and leans her neck out to the side, giving Jungeun more access. 

 

“Breathe, Jinsol,” the brunette says. It’s the first time she’s ever said Jinsol’s name. Jinsol doesn’t have time to register that fully in her brain because Jungeun’s teeth pierce her skin. 

 

Jinsol gasps, feeling all out of breath with that one puncture. Her hands tighten around Jungeun’s neck. 

 

“Breathe,” the brunette reminds her. Jinsol tries to. She really does. But the pain travels all over her body, pins and needles making her legs weak. Jungeun holds her up as she begins to lightly suck on the blonde girl’s blood. Jinsol’s eyes shut tightly, her mouth open as she gasps for breath.

 

After a couple seconds, Jinsol feels the moist feeling of Jungeun’s tongue between the two bite punctures. She sighs shakily. 

 

“Drink more,” the brunette orders from off to the side. Her voice is an echo in Jinsol’s mind, the words all slurring together, “Slowly.”

 

Jungeun begins to drink more of Jinsol’s blood, her tongue frequently flicking out to ease the girl’s pain. If Jinsol were in her right mind, she’d blush at the amount of mewls that are spilling from her lips at the simple contact of Jungeun’s tongue against her wounds, but she isn’t. She can’t think properly. 

 

This goes on for a few minutes, seeing as Jungeun doesn’t want to get  _ too  _ ahead of herself, taking small sips every now and then to make sure Jinsol isn’t severely hurt.

 

“Okay. That’s good,” the brunette spoke, “Carefully take your teeth out.  _ Carefully _ .”

 

Jungeun holds onto Jinsol tightly, sliding her fangs out. Jinsol collapses in Jungeun’s arms, knees buckling beneath her. While Jinsol has never felt weaker in her life, Jungeun has never felt so  _ energized _ . 

 

“Jinsol, are you okay?” Jungeun asks, holding the barely conscious girl in her arms. Jungeun licks her lips, cleaning the excess blood off her mouth. 

 

The brunette girl takes a step closer, “You’re not dead. That’s good.”

 

Haseul feels her stomach growl in hunger. The brunette turns to look at the girl who still has not yet fed. 

 

“Feed already,” she says before looking over to Jiwoo, “You, too.”

 

Jinsol’s eyes open and close slowly. A rushing pain flies towards her brain and she yells, closing her eyes tightly. Her eyes sting so much it feels as if acid had been dumped into her eye sockets. The soreness of the bite has not passed by yet and Jinsol’s already thrown into another wave of pain. 

 

Jungeun holds onto her, hugging her.

 

“Can’t you do something?!” Jungeun asks the brunette who simply shakes her head, watching Jinsol with curious eyes, “It’s beyond anybody’s control at this point.”

 

Jinsol grabs her head, tugging at the roots of her hair. The brunette notes that Jinsol’s experiencing much more pain than the other four girls. Meaning she’s either dying or that she…

 

The pain all of a sudden disappears and she lifts her head, still leaning on Jungeun. Her eyes open, causing everybody to gasp.

 

“You’re…” the brunette girl takes a step back as she stares into glowing  _ blue  _ eyes, “You’re the alpha…” she breathes in disbelief. 

 

Jinsol looks around, hands still holding onto Jungeun. She can see. She can see so bright it were as if somebody had flicked a switch in her brain. She connects eyes with the brunette.

 

“What the hell does that mean?” Jinsol narrows her eyes, the blue orbs still very visible through small slits.

 

“The strongest of the strong… The wisest of the wise…” the brunette’s still in shock. 

 

Vivi interrupts, “Sorry, did you just call Jinsol  _ ‘strong’ _ ?” she laughs a little. “That’s a good one.”

 

The brunette just shakes her head, awed.

 

Jinsol can feel power flowing through her veins and it scares her. She glances over to Jiwoo, who’s on the floor looking up at her, then over to Haseul, who’s standing, looking through the cell’s bars. 

 

“Will you two please eat? We’ll talk afterwards.”

 

Jiwoo focuses on the fox in the cage. It’s awake, its wide eyes staring at her. Maybe it’s just Jiwoo’s imagination, but the fox looks terrified, the same way a human would—frozen with open, alert eyes. Its ears are perked up stiffly. Jiwoo opens the cage, and the fox gets as far away from the opening as it can, stuffing itself into the corner of the cage. 

 

Jiwoo’s eyes begin to water, “I can’t, “ she shakes her head, looking up at Jinsol, “I can’t do it,” she whispers.

 

“Then die,” the brunette replies in annoyance. Jinsol hisses at her, causing the taller girl to flinch. 

 

“Go  _ help her _ ,” Jinsol orders. The brunette obeys instantly, making a smirk form on Jinsol’s lips, “By the way, you never told us your name.” 

 

The brunette girl kneels down next to the cage, grabbing the fox by the ruff of its neck and pulling it out. 

 

“Nowadays, I go by Sooyoung,” she answers in a mumble, holding the fox’s mouth closed as she lays it in front of Jiwoo. She points to a spot at the fox’s neck, “Bite here,” she says to Jiwoo, who looks at the poor fox in front of her.

 

“Jiwoo…” Jinsol calls softly. Jiwoo looks over to her friend. Jinsol’s giving a small smile and Jiwoo would find it comforting if it weren’t for the fact that her eyes are  _ blue _ , “Just do it, okay? Do it once.”

 

At the other cell, Haseul sinks her fangs into the animal’s neck. 

 

“I’m gonna puke,” she mutters with a mouthful of fur, starting to suck the blood from her victim. 

 

Vivi watches her with yellow eyes, “It  _ is  _ gross,” she comments as Haseul continues to rapidly suck the fox’s blood. 

 

Jiwoo leans down and bares her fangs, right above the spot Sooyoung had pointed to.

 

“Go on,” Jinsol says gently.

 

The fox whimpers as Sooyoung holds it down harder. Jiwoo closes her eyes tightly as she bites down, trying hard not to let the loud yelp from the fox make her pull away. She starts to suck, doing it quickly so she can get it over with.

 

“That’s good,” Sooyoung says after a minute. Jiwoo shoots back immediately, spitting out the excess fur and blood she had on her mouth. She wipes at her mouth with her hands, staring at the lifeless corpse on the cold floor. Her bottom lip begins to tremble with each passing second. 

 

Sooyoung takes the fox’s body and the cage out of the cell as Jiwoo begins to cry. She collects the rest of the cages and their foxes while Jinsol walks into Jiwoo’s cell. She sits in front of the girl and pulls her into a hug. Jiwoo, practically sitting on top of Jinsol’s lap, shakes with quiet sobs. The three other friends have no clue what to do, all staring at each other as the youngest one breaks down.

 

—

 

The six girls sit on the ground in a circle, tension enveloping them as the sounds of Jiwoo shuffling closer to Jinsol echo in their brains. Jinsol places a hand on Jiwoo’s lap, speaking first.

 

“Will you please explain  _ everything _ ?” she asks the brunette girl, who leans back on two hands. Sooyoung turns her head to the side.

 

“ _ Everything _ ?” she responds with a smirk, “That’s a lot to explain. We only have so much time.”

 

“So much time? Until  _ what _ ?” Jinsol narrows her eyes. Sooyoung sighs, her smile disappearing. 

 

It feels colder all of a sudden.

 

“Until  _ they  _ come back,” Sooyoung say, “They as in the ghouls.”

 

“Ghouls?” Haseul asks, hand interlocked with Vivi’s. “As in…”

 

“Yeah, ghouls. Demons, monsters— _ whatever  _ you wanna call them,” Sooyoung nods, “They’re what wiped out my last pack,” she says sadly—the first  _ real  _ emotion she’s shown since the group of friends have encountered her. It’s nice to see some humanity left in her. 

 

The girls listen carefully, though slightly terrified. 

 

“They’re cannibalistic—at least, that’s what  _ I’ve  _ been told—but each time they come around... their group seems to have grown.”

 

“It’s been going on for hundreds of years. Every six months they travel through this desert, to and from whatever destination they go to. I don’t know  _ where  _ they go, and I don’t want to,” Sooyoung stares at the ground as she speaks, “They attack the diner. This place turns into a total warzone once they’re here.”

 

“Then why don’t you leave?” Vivi inputs. 

 

Sooyoung’s eyes snap up to Vivi, eyes glowing.

 

“This is my  _ home _ ,” Sooyoung replies in a growl, teeth gritting, “and I’m not gonna let some zombie-demon hybrid piece of  _ shit  _ destroy it for their  _ stupid  _ migration.” 

 

Jinsol sees her clench her fists. 

 

“Besides,” Sooyoung regains her composure, fists loosening, “me—a  _ vampire _ —trying to make it in the mortal world?” she scoffs, shaking her head, “Yeah,  _ right _ .”

 

“What? So  _ we’re  _ your new military squad?” Jinsol hisses, “We didn’t sign up for this.” 

 

It’s a clash of bright red eyes with flashing blue eyes.

 

“Are you gonna leave?” Sooyoung sneers, “Are you gonna go back to your families?” she continues, leaning closer to the girl in front of her, “Are you gonna pretend to not know why the  _ fuck  _ you’re not getting any older and why you suddenly want to eat meat  _ raw _ ?” the brunette returns to her position, sitting up straighter, “You have no choice. You’re with me now.”

 

“Actually,” Jungeun cuts in, “ _ You’re _ with  _ her _ now.”

 

“What?” Sooyoung snaps. Jungeun points to Jinsol.

 

“She’s the alpha.”

 

“Yeah, and she became a vampire  _ two seconds ago _ whilst I’ve been one more than your family generation has been running. What’s your point?” 

 

“If the five of us leave, you have to go with us,” Jungeun says, “We don’t have to help you fight these things.”

 

Sooyoung laughs, a loud laugh that startles the girls, “Fine.  _ Leave _ . I’ve fended those little rats off for twenty years now. I can do it for some more.” 

 

She quirks an eyebrow, “Just tell me how well you do back in the human world when you know you’re throbbing to sink your teeth into  _ each  _ and  _ every  _ one of those puny  _ humans _ . Tell me how well you do when you’ve ousted yourselves, getting a pack of vampire hunters on your back. Or, better yet, some of those ghouls. They  _ especially  _ like our blood,” she stands, “Tell me how fun it is getting prodded with sticks and put into experiments by some sick scientists who think they know everything. I’ve heard it’s much more painful nowadays. They’re gotten  _ smarter _ .”

 

Jinsol shoots a glance around the girls who are still sitting in a circle. She furrows her eyebrows, lost in her thoughts before getting up. 

 

“When’s the next group coming through?” she asks Sooyoung. 

 

Sooyoung smirks, “In a few weeks.”

 

Vivi shoots up, gripping onto Jinsol’s arm, “You’re not seriously considering staying here,  _ right _ ?” 

 

One by one, each girl stands, staring at their alpha—their  _ leader _ . Jinsol sighs. 

 

“She has a point,” Jinsol says, her tone calm but serious, “We don’t know anything about ourselves anymore. We don’t know how to survive. Even if we do leave, where would we go? Huh? Where?” 

 

She looks around, waiting for one of the girls to respond. None of them do. 

 

Her eyes land on Sooyoung, “Teach us  _ everything  _ you know.”

 

“It’d be my pleasure,” Sooyoung smiles—not as evil-looking as she had been, “But first, your new eyes need to settle. It’ll take a couple days until you can all come up,” she points to Jinsol, “Except you.” 

 

Jinsol raises an eyebrow. 

 

“Alpha eyes don’t need time to adjust. It’s been adjusting all your life,” Sooyoung explains, “You have it in your blood.”

 

“So,” Sooyoung claps her hands once, “ _ You _ can help me gather more foxes for them to feed off of.” 

 

Jiwoo’s eyes meet Jinsol’s. The older one then turns to Sooyoung, “Is there… any other animal they can feed off of? And do they have to  _ suck  _ the blood? Can we just… I don’t know—give them a cup of blood?”

 

Sooyoung crosses her arms, “You’re asking me to babify a  _ normal  _ vampire action?”

 

“Just for now?” Jinsol asks.

 

“They’re going to have to learn to get used to it sooner or later, Jinsol,” Sooyoung points out. 

 

Before Jinsol can argue, Jiwoo speaks. “It’s okay,” she says shakily, “she’s right. I have to get used to it.” 

 

She tries to smile but fails miserably. Jinsol sighs.

 

Sooyoung nudges Jinsol, “ _ She _ can still feed off you,” she nods her head towards Jungeun, “Your blood doesn’t kill her. It’s rare for that to happen.” 

 

Jungeun and Jinsol look at each other. 

 

“I’ve only seen it happen between mates.” 

 

They both quickly look away. 

 

Sooyoung laughs at their reactions, “Let’s go find some foxes.” 

 

“And what do we do?” Haseul asks. 

 

Sooyoung shrugs as she gathers up the cages, putting the dead carcasses all into one cage, “Hang tight. I’ll get you a pack of cards or something.” 

 

Jinsol follows the girl up the stairs. Sooyoung seems a lot less scary to Jinsol now. 

 

_ Or maybe it’s just the alpha blood talking. _

 

“You and her have something?” Sooyoung asks as they near the top, the brightness taking only a couple of seconds for Jinsol to adjust to. She squints, holding a hand in front of her eyes.

 

“Pardon?” Jinsol replies.

 

“You and… what was her name?  _ Jungeun _ ? You and her?” Sooyoung questions bluntly, opening the diner’s door to the outside world. Jinsol clears her throat. 

 

“Something… like that,” she ignores the flaming sensation on her cheeks. Sooyoung grins back at her, not saying anything else. 

 

-

 

The two of them walk through the desert in silence, keeping their eyes out for foxes or any other mammal. Sooyoung suddenly shoots her arm out in front of Jinsol, causing the girl to stumble back. 

 

“What? What is it?” Jinsol whispers.

 

“Right there,” Sooyoung looks straight ahead. Jinsol then sees what she’s looking at. It’s a car. 

 

Jinsol cocks her head, “What? What about them?”

 

“That’s what they’re gonna feed off of.”

 

Jinsol widens her eyes, “Sooyoung,  _ no _ ,” she says sternly. 

 

Sooyoung shoots her a look, “Jinsol,  _ yes _ .”

 

“ _ No _ ,” Jinsol shakes her head, “Jiwoo won’t be able to.”

 

“But—“

 

“I said  _ no _ ,” Jinsol growls. Sooyoung narrows her eyes. She may have more experience, but she doesn’t have more power.

 

“Fine,” she grumbles, “Let’s keep walking.”

 

-

 

“Look alive, kiddos,” Sooyoung chirps as she walks down the last few stairs. Jinsol, walking behind Sooyoung, holds a small lamp in her hands. Sooyoung puts down the cages. 

 

“Take whichever one. I don’t care,” 

 

Each girl walks forward, grabbing their own cages—except Jungeun, who’s left with no cage.

 

She looks confused, “You only brought down three?”

 

“I figured you’d just feed off Jinsol,” Sooyoung shrugs. 

 

Jungeun’s mouth forms an ‘o’ shape, “I… I don’t wanna hurt her.”

 

“Trust me, a bite is nothing to her anymore,” Sooyoung takes the lamp from Jinsol, placing it into the center of the dark room. 

 

The brightness makes everyone’s eyes sore.

 

“It’ll practically be like sex,” Sooyoung smirks. Both girls blush.

 

Haseul lets out an immature ‘ _ ooooooooooh _ !’ that makes Jinsol glare at her. Vivi laughs and Jiwoo actually manages a smile. 

 

The atmosphere dies down once Vivi opens her cage. 

 

Sooyoung begins to walk back up the stairs, “I’ll be back down to check on things later.  _ I _ still have a diner to run,” she smiles. 

 

The girls get silent, each of them waiting for the others to do something.

 

“Seul—Haseul…” Jiwoo stutters, staring at the fox in front of her. Jinsol examines her posture, noticing how tense she is. She dislikes the fact that she can’t help Jiwoo in a way. She hates that they have to do this. 

 

“Can you hold it down for me?” Jiwoo asks, “The same way… the same way Sooyoung did?” 

 

Haseul immediately nods, “Of course.” 

 

She takes the fox, pinning it down. Jiwoo winces as she holds the whimpering fox. The poor creature obviously knows that these five girls aren’t humans. Not anymore.

 

Jinsol feels a tap on her shoulder. She sees Jungeun blinking at her, pupils golden. 

 

“I’ll make it quick,” she mutters. The older girl shoots a look over to Jiwoo, who seems to be getting encouragement from Haseul, before nodding towards Jungeun. 

 

“Alright,” she tugs on Jungeun’s wrist, pulling her closer as she leans on the wall behind her, “I don’t think it’ll hurt as much as it did last time.” 

 

Jungeun nuzzles the blonde girl’s neck, placing a soft kiss where the bite wound from yesterday had been. It’s gone now—the healing process is much quicker for vampires than that of a human. 

 

“I kind of feel bad,” Jungeun whispers, “They have foxes and… I have you.” 

 

Jinsol pats her arm, “Just bite me,” she smiles gently, leaning her head on Jungeun’s shoulder.

 

—

 

Sooyoung leads all five of them up to the surface. 

 

Jinsol’s at the back of the line, keeping a hand on the small of Jiwoo’s back. 

 

Haseul pauses in her steps, “It’s too hot,” she says. 

 

Sooyoung looks back, “It’s going to be,” she replies, “You’ll get used to it. Now come on.” 

 

Haseul continues upwards, her body heat increasing with each stair she walks up.

 

“I’m sweating,” Vivi states. Jinsol can  _ sense  _ the uneasiness pouring out of her friends. 

 

“Sooyoung, do you think it’s too early for them to go up?” Jinsol voices her worry. 

 

Sooyoung shakes her head, “That’s nonsense. It’s always like this.” 

 

She walks up one more step before looking back at the group, “Squint your eyes,” she warns them. She moves the jukebox out of the way. Groans and gasps can be heard as the bright dining room lights hit the four of them. Jinsol holds Jiwoo up as she stumbles back in surprise.

 

“It’s too bright!” She turns around and steps onto the stair Jinsol is on, burying her face into the girl’s chest. Jinsol hugs Jiwoo, looking at Sooyoung with furrowed eyebrows. Sooyoung narrows her eyes at the youngest, tugging Haseul and the others up the last stair. 

 

“You’ll get used to it,” she says, “Hurry up.”

 

“Jiwoo,” Jinsol calls gently, “Come on, let’s go.” 

 

The two of them make it up the last few stairs with Jiwoo still clinging onto her. All of the girls get situated at one of the booths—Jinsol passes Jiwoo into Vivi’s hold. Jungeun has her palms over her eyes whilst Haseul has her head laid down on the table. Sooyoung pulls Jinsol into the kitchen. 

 

“Get them cold towels. I’ll get them medicine.”

 

When the two of them walk back out, Jiwoo’s still hiding behind Vivi’s shoulder. Vivi’s squinting, though she looks like she’s holding up pretty well compared to the others. Jinsol gives two towels to Vivi and places one on the back of Haseul’s neck. She tends to Jungeun last, gently wiping away the sweat glands accumulating on her temple. Sooyoung walks out with glasses of water. She gives each girl one pill along with a cup, “Drink this. It’ll help with the heat and the brightness.”

 

Upon hearing about the effects the pill would give, Haseul lifts her head and downs the pill instantly. Vivi helps Jiwoo and Jungeun helps herself. Jinsol’s forehead winkles in worry and distress. 

 

“This is normal?” she asks Sooyoung, continuing to wipe away Jungeun’s sweat.

 

“Yeah,” Sooyoung watches Jiwoo drink the cup of water with her eyes tightly shut. 

 

“It’s normal,” the brunette girl pulls a chair up to the table, sitting at the end of it. “I’ll give you guys a day to rest and then we can start training,” she keeps her eyes on Jiwoo, “I think  _ she  _ might need to start early.” 

 

Jinsol gave her an incredulous look, “Don’t you think she might need to start  _ later _ ?”

 

Sooyoung leans back, giving a calm shake of her head, “No. I mean earlier.” 

 

She crosses her arms, “She’s already slacking. She’s going to need all the help she’s gonna get.” 

 

Sooyoung stands, walking closer to Vivi. The girl pulls Jiwoo closer upon seeing Sooyoung’s advances. 

 

“Give her to me,” Sooyoung holds out her hand.

 

“ _ No _ ,” Vivi narrows her eyes. (Though they’re already  _ very  _ much narrowed due to the brightness.) 

 

Jinsol lets Jungeun hold onto the cold towel as she intervenes, “Sooyoung, this is too much.”

 

“It’s better to start now,” Sooyoung glares at her, “I’m not being cruel—I’m being realistic.” 

 

She looks back at Vivi, “ _ Give _ .” 

 

Vivi shoots a helpless look towards Jinsol, who just sighs and gestures vaguely for Vivi to let go. Jiwoo starts to whimper as she feels Vivi’s hold on her loosen. 

 

She cries out when she feels Sooyoung’s cold hand on her arm—a hissing sensation felt at the combination of hot skin and cold skin—and she calls out for her friends as she feels herself being tugged out of the booth. 

 

Jinsol looks away while the other girls look at Jinsol.

 

“Shouldn’t… shouldn’t you go watch them?” Haseul asks, watching Sooyoung drag a crying Jiwoo out of the diner, “To make sure Sooyoung doesn’t do anything?” 

 

Jinsol sits down with a  _ thump _ , leaning her head down onto Jungeun’s shoulder, “She won’t do anything,” she responds tiredly, eyes closing.

 

“Jinsol, you actually trust Sooyoung?” Vivi questions with a tone of disbelief. 

 

Jinsol thinks about it for a second. She shrugs, “We’re gonna  _ have  _ to, right?”

 

-

 

“Let me go!” Jiwoo screams, her throat hoarse as Sooyoung continues to pull her through the desert. Jiwoo’s body feels like it’s being set on fire and her insides feel like they’re melting. Her eyeballs feel as if they’re being scalded by hot water; the tears that leave the corner of her eyes are burning hot. She shoots daggers towards Sooyoung through her yellow eyes. Sooyoung finally stops walking, but she doesn’t let go of Jiwoo. 

 

The younger girl’s a mess, her breaths coming out in short pants and her hair similar to a bird’s nest. Sooyoung stares at her— _ observing  _ her. Once Jiwoo catches her breath, Sooyoung slackens her grip on her wrist. 

 

“Start running,” she commands. Jiwoo furrows her eyebrows in confusion. Sooyoung tightens her jaw, “ _ Go _ .”

 

Jiwoo obeys, running in the opposite direction of Sooyoung. She doesn’t get very far—Sooyoung catches up to her within seconds, pulling her back to their starting point. Jiwoo gives her a pointed look. The brunette girl simply gestures for her to keep running—only to pull her back to the start when Jiwoo hasn’t gone far. This goes on for nearly half an hour until Jiwoo’s had enough.

 

Panting, Jiwoo looks at Sooyoung, “What do you want?” she questions, eyes burning from the scorching sunlight hitting her already-sensitive pupils.

 

“I want you to  _ not  _ die,” Sooyoung retorts. gently pushing Jiwoo forward, “I’m doing this for your own good. Now run.”

 

Jiwoo emotions reach their limit, “My own good?!” she yells, taking a step forward, “This is for my own good?!” she pushes Sooyoung with both of her hands, causing the brunette girl to take a couple steps back. Her voice is cracking all over the place and it hurts her throat to even breathe. 

 

“Turning me into a  _ monster  _ against my own will is all for my  _ own good _ ?!” she screams, gasping for breath at the same time. Jiwoo starts to punch Sooyoung’s shoulder with as much strength she can muster. Sooyoung, who’s started to actually  _ wince  _ at the pain Jiwoo’s inflicting, has enough of it. In one swift move, she tackles Jiwoo onto the desert floor, causing sand to disperse and fly into the air.

 

Jiwoo lets out a cry of pain, eyes shut tightly as she tries to free her wrists from Sooyoung’s grip. 

 

“Stop it!” she gasps out as Sooyoung tightened her grip. She opens her eyes, staring into bright red ones. 

 

Sooyoung clenches her teeth, her eyes starting to water as she stares at the girl below her. 

 

Jiwoo squirms, the ends of Sooyoung’s long brunette hair falling next to her cheeks—grazing her skin. 

 

“And you think…” Sooyoung begins, “You think that I  _ wanted  _ to become like this?” 

 

She knits her eyebrows together, “That I  _ wanted  _ to be beaten and bitten over and over again by my  _ own best friend  _ and her  _ sick  _ friends?” 

 

Yellow eyes flicker between red eyes. Jiwoo’s no longer struggling against the older girl who seems to be on the verge of a breakdown. She gulps down the lump in her throat, a sharp whimper escaping her lips as Sooyoung unconsciously tightens her hold. The older one lets go, pushing herself off of Jiwoo and standing up. She blinks away her tears. 

 

Jiwoo sits up on the desert floor, curling herself into a ball as she grips her red wrists.

 

The brunette girl eyes the younger one. She begins crouching down only to see Jiwoo flinch away. 

 

For the first time in a long time, Sooyoung feels guilty. 

 

She sighs and looks around, “I was your age, you know?” 

 

Her voice is raspy, but is much softer than the tone she had used before. 

 

“Technically, I still am,” Jiwoo peers over to her, her wrists held protectively by her hands. Sooyoung can’t look into her eyes as she speaks, so she looks at the sand on the hot ground, “I just don’t want you to be as unprepared as I was when I was your age,” Sooyoung admits, “I was beaten and tossed around and experimented on. Nobody was there to teach me like how I’m teaching all of you. I nearly died.”

 

“But… what about your friend?” Jiwoo questions quietly, sniffling.

 

Sooyoung’s face turns grim, “She ran off after realizing what she had done to me... I haven’t seen her in centuries.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Jiwoo apologizes, scanning the older girl’s face. Sooyoung looks up, eyes connecting with Jiwoo’s. 

 

She gives a little smile, shrugging her shoulders. “Nothing to be sorry about. If anything, I should be the one apologizing.” 

 

She sighs and stands up, “Let’s head back, yeah?” 

 

Jiwoo gets up, only to fall back down. Her legs have been pushed far beyond their limit, even if she  _ did  _ have super vampire strength. 

 

Sooyoung glances at her before taking a deep breath and bending down in front of Jiwoo. 

 

Jiwoo looks at her, “What?”

 

“Get on my back,” Sooyoung looks over her shoulder, pushing a strand of brown hair away from her face. 

 

Jiwoo blinks, “What?” she repeats. 

 

Sooyoung rolls her eyes, “Just… hurry up.” 

 

There’s a sizzling noise let out as Jiwoo’s skin touches Sooyoung’s. It hurts for a second, but then Sooyoung’s freezing cold skin feels like an ice pack against Jiwoo’s burning skin. 

 

It’s comforting.

 

-

 

The girls look up as the chime of the bell attached to the front door rings. Jinsol runs over when she spots the unconscious Jiwoo on Sooyoung’s back. 

 

“What happened?” she asks worriedly. 

 

Sooyoung shushes her, “Nothing happened,” she says with her eyebrows furrowed, concerned that Jiwoo might wake up. 

 

“She’s just sleeping,” Sooyoung states, “she’s tired.”

 

Haseul gives Vivi a look and Vivi looks at her right back. 

 

If they aren’t mistaken, that’s  _ genuine  _ worry that Sooyoung’s showing. Jinsol shoots a glance over her shoulder towards the other girls, surprise on her face as well. Sooyoung heads towards the kitchen and Jinsol calls out to her, her voice at a lower volume, “Where are you going?”

 

“My bedroom,” Sooyoung answers. 

 

Jungeun raises her eyebrows, “You have a bedroom?”

 

The question’s left unanswered as Sooyoung opens the door with one hand, her other hand holding both of Jiwoo’s wrists that are locked around her neck. 

 

Jiwoo stirs slightly before burying her face deeper into Sooyoung’s neck. Sooyoung lets out a breath of relief, entering the kitchen. She walks to the far back and soon enters the place she had called her bedroom. It’s really just a mattress on the floor, but it’s a  _ comfy  _ mattress. She carefully sits down, trying to uncurl Jiwoo’s hands at the same time. Jiwoo lets out a whine.

 

“Jiwoo, go back to sleep,” Sooyoung whispers, taking Jiwoo’s hands off of her. Sooyoung’s back is all wet and sweaty thanks to the girl, but she doesn’t care. She turns and lays Jiwoo down gently. 

 

The girl’s eyes open, her vision blurry. Her whole body feels hot again. She lets out a small whimper. Sooyoung sighs and looks around for something that can cool Jiwoo down such as a fan, but she forgets that she had thrown away such electronics—seeing no use for them. 

 

“Jiwoo, stay here. I’ll go get you a cold towel.” 

 

As Sooyoung stands, Jiwoo grabs onto her wrist and pulls her down next to her. Sooyoung, slightly shocked, feels the girl turn so her back is towards her. She curls her body in such a way that Sooyoung finds cute. She seems so small. 

 

“You’re colder,” Jiwoo states in a mumble, waiting for Sooyoung to hug her. 

 

Sooyoung hears a hushed whisper at the door and sees the other three girls peeking inside. Her eyes flash bright red at the group, causing them to scurry away, before they return to a softer shade, eyes focusing on Jiwoo. 

 

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Sooyoung murmurs before laying down, pulling Jiwoo closer by the waist. She hears Jiwoo sigh contently, her body fitting snug against Sooyoung’s. 

 

With a vampire’s hearing, Sooyoung can hear all the ‘aww’s’ being whispered by the girls at the door. She rolls her eyes, trying hard to keep her ‘cool’ and ‘scary’ image. Jiwoo places her hand on top of Sooyoung’s arm, eyes closed shut. 

 

“Thank you,” she whispers. Sooyoung’s stomach flutters—something that hasn’t happened in  _ years— _ and she pulls Jiwoo closer, allowing herself to close her eyes.

 

-

 

Jungeun wraps her arm around Jinsol and speaks in a hushed voice, “Did that seriously just happen?” 

 

Vivi nudges Jungeun, her hand interlocked with Haseul’s as the four of them sit at the booth, “Sooyoung’s totally cuddling with Jiwoo.”

 

“Should we be worried?” Haseul asks in a confused tone, looking towards Jinsol for an answer. 

 

Jinsol blinks, “Why do you always look at me?”

 

“You’re the leader,” Haseul replies simply. 

 

The word makes Jinsol shiver, “Please don’t call me that.”

 

“But it’s true.”

 

Jinsol sighs. It’s gonna take a while to get used to everything, she guesses. 

 

She looks back towards the kitchen door, “I don’t think we should be worried.” 

 

She shakes her head, “Sooyoung isn’t…  _ that  _ bad.” 

 

Besides the fact that she’s the reason for their turnings, Jinsol doesn’t find Sooyoung that bad of a person— _ vampire _ ,  _ whatever _ . Her temper seems a little off, yeah—but Jinsol can see the girl that Sooyoung used to be whenever she genuinely smiles. She can see a young soul trapped behind those scary red eyes. 

 

Jinsol turns back to the group. 

 

“We shouldn’t be worried,” she confirms.

 

—

 

The next day, Sooyoung leads the girls through the desert. Jiwoo’s glued to her side and it doesn’t seem like Sooyoung cares. Jungeun points towards the two girls and quirks an eyebrow at Jinsol, who just shrugs and continues to follow behind.  

 

Eventually, they all stop. Sooyoung clears her throat and turns on her heel. 

 

“First step,” she speaks clearly, “you all need to learn how to control your speed.”

 

“And how do we do that?” Vivi asks.

 

Sooyoung shoots a knowing look towards Jiwoo, who’s lightly grasping her forearm. 

 

“You  _ run _ .” 

 

Jiwoo makes a face, forehead wrinkling in discomfort. 

 

“It’ll kick in—your speed,” Sooyoung tears her eyes away from the shorter girl and looks among the other four, “You’ll feel a rush down your spine before you realize you’re going much faster than you thought you ever could.” 

 

She feels Jiwoo’s hand slide down her arm to interlock with her own. Sooyoung clears her throat, focusing on the task at hand, “You’re lucky I brought you out here in the wide open. It could be dangerous if you don’t know how to control it.”

 

Jiwoo’s lips curve up into a teasing smile, eyes staring at the brunette girl, “Did you hit something when you first tried this?” 

 

Sooyoung feels her cheeks warming up and she curses herself for thinking that way. Jinsol can hear Sooyoung’s inner thoughts and it makes her smile. 

 

_ Stop it, heart. You’re going too fast. I’m supposed to be dead!  _

 

Jinsol can hear Sooyoung’s voice inside of her own head—a perk she found out back at the diner that she had. She can communicate with the others through her thoughts. She replies to Sooyoung with a teasing tone. 

 

_ Awwww, how cute. _

 

Sooyoung shoots her a scary look and Jinsol simply smiles at her. Jiwoo squeezes her hand.

 

Sooyoung coughs a little, “Yeah,” she answers, eyes slowly trailing over to look at a smirking Jinsol, “I slammed right into a lamp post,” she admits, making her eyes flash the way they do whenever she’s angry. 

 

Jiwoo giggles, “Stupid.”

 

Sooyoung releases Jiwoo’s hand and claps twice. 

 

“ _ Anyway _ ,” she says, “start running.”

 

“What?” Haseul blinks at her, “We just...  _ run _ ?”

 

“Just run,” Sooyoung nods. 

 

Vivi narrows her eyes, “What’s the catch?”

 

Sooyoung smiles, drawing a line into the sand with the tip of her shoe. She points to the line, “I’ll be pulling the four of you back right to this line if you do not manage to tinker in to your new super cool vampire speed.”

 

Jiwoo rolls her eyes, “This is what I did before.” 

 

Sooyoung pats her shoulder, looking towards the other girls.

 

She quirks an eyebrow, “ _ Start _ .”

 

—

 

Soon enough, they’re a tough pack of vampires—Jinsol more than the others—but they’re all powerful. Some of them are stronger in certain aspects, such as Haseul in speed and Vivi in strength. Jiwoo’s a jack-of-all-trades and so is Jungeun. Hell, even  _ Sooyoung _ has gained some skill from training the group. 

 

She feels much more energized now that she has a pack again. Just between her and Jinsol (only because Jinsol can tune in to her thoughts at any time), she’s glad that the group had come in that one night.

 

—

 

And now it’s the waiting game. They spend three weeks training until their backs are drenched in sweat and their limbs feel like falling out. Sooyoung trains them to fight against her, but it’s still worrying to think that they’d have to fight the ghouls. 

 

What if something happened to them and Sooyoung couldn’t do anything? She has only just gotten another pack—another  _ family _ . She doesn’t want them to leave her again because, truth be told, she  _ hates  _ being alone.

 

She can hear Haseul and Vivi jumping around outside, can hear Jungeun teasing Jinsol over something, but she can’t hear what Jiwoo is doing. 

 

The brunette girl looks around the diner from the booth she was sitting at. 

 

“Jiwoo?” she calls out. She stands when she gets no response, walking to the kitchen where she assumes Jiwoo would be. Sooyoung looks around and sees that the hatch above the ladder leading to the roof is open. Her heartbeat calms down as she can now hear the soft humming coming from the girl on the roof. 

 

She climbs the ladder and sees Jiwoo swinging her legs back and forth off the side of the building.

 

“Hey,” Sooyoung greets, taking a seat next to Jiwoo. The younger one smiles over to her. 

 

“Hey,” she replies. 

 

“What are you doing up here?” Sooyoung asks, staring at the girl’s side profile. 

 

Jiwoo shrugs, “Nothing. I just like it up here.”

 

“It’s really hot up here,” Sooyoung states. 

 

Jiwoo laughs, the sound resonating inside Sooyoung’s brain, “Yeah, it is—but you can see a lot from here.” 

 

Her eyes focus on the seemingly endless desert, “It’s pretty.”

 

Sooyoung stares down at the girls on the desert floor who are all messing about. Haseul and Vivi are playing tag and Jungeun is poking Jinsol. 

 

All of a sudden, they stop. 

 

Haseul shoots a look to Vivi, who instantly looks towards Jinsol. The alpha turns to look up at Sooyoung, who begins to hear what the others are hearing. 

 

Loud, high-pitched screeches and the sound of hundreds of bare, rotten feet hitting the dead desert floor. 

 

Jiwoo glances at Sooyoung, “Is that—“

 

“Yes,” Sooyoung nods, climbing down the side of the building, “Okay. Just as we practiced.” 

 

She gathers the group of girls as the sounds increase in volume, “Don’t let them bite you, don’t get near their claws, and do not try to anticipate  _ any  _ of their movements.” Sooyoung looks deep into each and every one of their eyes, “Remember—they are completely unpredictable and will act out randomly. Just try to go for their heads, that’s the only way we can kill them.” 

 

Her red eyes dimmed, “And… please don’t get hurt… I don’t want to lose any of you,” she says quietly.

 

One specific screech is louder than the others—causing all the girls to wince. 

 

Sooyoung shoots a distressed look towards the direction it came from, “That was their leader calling to tell them that  _ we’re  _ here.” 

 

Vivi gulps, “I’ll get the knives.” 

 

She dashes into the diner. Haseul follows suit. Jinsol and Jungeun stare into the distance, waiting to see the horde of dark black shadows rise. Sooyoung looks down at the girl next to her. She takes hold of Jiwoo’s wrist.

 

“You can stay with me,” Sooyoung orders. Jiwoo’s scared, Sooyoung can tell. Not just because of the way her eyebrows are curved up or because of the way her yellow pupils seem to shake, but because she just  _ knows _ Jiwoo. Jiwoo reminds her so much of somebody in her old pack. 

 

Somebody she had taken a specific liking to… 

 

(Sooyoung had glanced away for two seconds and Yujin was gone.)

 

She won’t let that happen with Jiwoo.

 

_ They’re here.  _

 

Jinsol’s voice echoes through all of their heads. Haseul and Vivi hand out the weapons and the six of them stand in a line, staring at the creatures a few miles down. 

 

“We have to drive them away from the diner,” Sooyoung says, speaking calmly, “Attack the left side and push them right. Don’t let them hit this building,” she orders. 

 

The girls all nod. 

 

“Haseul and Vivi take the backside, Jungeun and Jinsol take the left,” the hand grasping onto Jiwoo’s wrist slides downwards in order to interlace their fingers. She looks down at the girl as she squeezes the small hand in her own hold. Jiwoo looks up at her. There’s so much trust in her eyes that it makes Sooyoung’s heart tighten. She looks away to the other girls, “Jiwoo and I will take the front.”

 

It’s so loud and yet it’s deathly silent. Sooyoung speaks again, eyes switching between different pairs. 

 

“Do you all understand me?”

 

“Yes,” they reply. 

 

Sooyoung nods, “Alright.” 

 

She takes a deep breath.

 

“Start.”

 

They run quickly to get to their positions. The stench of the monsters hits their noses instantly, they smell like burning rotten flesh—which makes sense, because that’s all they  _ are _ . 

 

Jinsol’s fangs begin to come out as they get closer. 

 

“Be careful,” she tells Jungeun, who nods right before one of the ghouls lunges at her. With precise aim, Jungeun slices the creature’s head off. The detached body falls with a thud before it explodes in small flames. There’s no time for Jinsol to gape at Jungeun’s first kill because they’re in battle now—the smell of death and blood invades their nostrils with immense strength. The pounding of the ghouls’ feet sound like continuous thunder. 

 

Not being fond of loud noises, Jinsol feels more angered about it than anything else. Her blue eyes glow and she pushes multiple ghouls back, causing a chain reaction seeing as most of them are still in movement. Jungeun aids in the killing as they successfully get the group to veer to the left. Haseul and Vivi slice at the groups’ backside, attempting to slow them down by injuring their legs. It works because lots of ghouls stop running and turn to look at the pair, mouths instantly opening in order to let out screeches.

 

Their breaths are so foul that Vivi has to hold in her own breath. 

 

And then they all lunge. 

 

Haseul grabs Vivi’s arm and pulls her away just in time. The two run a few steps back, faster than the ghouls. 

 

“Get ready,” Haseul squeezes Vivi’s arm and tightens her grip on her knife. 

 

Vivi gulps and nods, “Stay safe,” she replies.

 

“I’ll try,” Haseul shoots her a quick smile before bringing her knife up just in time to stab one of the ghouls in the throat. She twists her knife in order to fully kill the monster—its remains combusting in flames. She coughs, getting distracted for a split second, which allows one of the ghouls to slice her across the hip. 

 

She yells out at the stinging sensation, “ _ Shit! _ ” 

 

Vivi hears Haseul’s cry and her heart hammers in her chest. She wants to go over and check on the girl but she  _ can’t _ —there are too many—she’s surrounded by her own group of ghouls. 

 

All she can do is just hope that Haseul’s alright, because Haseul is  _ always  _ alright—at least, in her eyes Haseul is.

 

Haseul places her empty hand over the gash, gritting her teeth. 

 

It isn’t long before she’s killed most of the ghouls that had been attacking her, leaving only one. The last ghoul manages to attack her from the back, getting her onto the ground. Haseul’s quick to turn around and come face-to-face with the thing. She narrows her eyes at the creature on top of her who’s about to lunge at her. 

 

Right before the teeth can snap her neck in half, Haseul bashes the side of its head with the back of her knife. The creature rolls off with a loud scream that’ll haunt Haseul’s dreams forever. She silences the creature with multiple stabs at its throat, only stopping when she feels Vivi grab onto her shoulder, “Haseul!” she cries out, “Haseul, stop!” 

 

Haseul looks up, dazed. 

 

Vivi takes a step back because she’s never seen Haseul like that—with her eyes shining so bright yet seeming so  _ dark _ . 

 

“Let’s go,” she gulps. 

 

Haseul stands shakily, nodding absentmindedly with the pain of her hip numbing her thoughts. The two of them look up and see the rest of the group already far ahead with Jungeun and Jinsol doing a good job at diminishing the left side of the group and veering them off of their track. 

 

Sooyoung and Jiwoo are somewhere in front of the monsters, but Vivi can’t see them. 

 

“We have to hurry,” she takes Haseul’s arm and wraps it around her shoulder, helping the girl run, “Are you okay?” she asks. 

 

Haseul nods, eyes out of focus. 

 

At the front of the group, Jiwoo and Sooyoung are in constant motion to avoid the ghouls from trampling them. Sooyoung has Jiwoo behind her, stabbing at the creatures violently—pushing them back when they get too close. Jiwoo feels scared shitless—but not as much as she would be without Sooyoung being so protective over her. 

 

When it all gets too much, Sooyoung grabs Jiwoo’s hand and they run back further, putting distance between them and the ghouls. Sooyoung’s panting, her face drenched in sweat and a streak of blood lining her cheek. 

 

Jiwoo eyes her worriedly, “You’re overexerting yourself,” she states.

 

Sooyoung looks over  as Jiwoo cups her cheek, wiping off the blood on her cheek from the ghouls she had just killed. 

 

“Let me help,” Jiwoo pleads. 

 

Sooyoung’s eyebrows furrow and Jiwoo already knows she’s going to deny her offer. 

 

Before she can even say anything, Jiwoo stands on her toes and kisses her lips, pulling back quickly. 

 

“You can’t say no,” she says.

 

Sooyoung’s out of breath—and it isn’t because of all the movement she had been doing. She looks into Jiwoo’s eyes. 

 

“Please be careful,” she whispers.

 

“I will,” Jiwoo nods. 

 

There’s a scream, and all the girls can tell it wasn’t from the ghouls. 

 

Sooyoung lightly pushes Jiwoo, an uneasy feeling in her chest. 

 

“Bring whoever’s hurt back to the diner,” she orders. Jiwoo nods and runs off, finally feeling useful in the situation. Her mind races in fear at the thought of one of her friends being injured. 

 

Sooyoung watches her run off before charging towards the ghouls with her knife prepared.

 

-

 

When Jiwoo gets to the scene, she sees Vivi desperately pushing ghouls back from a figure curled up onto the ground. 

 

“Get away, you fuckers!” Vivi curses, slicing at the necks of the creatures. 

 

Jiwoo gulps and runs closer, seeing Haseul on the floor with blood seeping through her shirt. 

 

Jiwoo puts her arms under Haseul’s legs and arms, lifting her up with slight difficulty. Haseul’s breaths come out in pants. 

 

“That hurts,” she whines. 

 

Vivi sees Jiwoo at the corner of her eye and continues to fight, much more energized than before with the knowledge of Haseul getting help. 

 

Jiwoo starts to run towards the diner, as fast as her legs can bring her, “I’m sorry.”

 

-

 

Haseul lays in the booth with the gash in her hip larger than it had been earlier. She gasps for breath, her skin paler than Jiwoo has ever seen it. Jiwoo dabs at the cut with a wet towel, unsure of what to do. 

 

“Haseul? Haseul, I’m gonna wrap the bandage around your waist.” 

 

Haseul’s tightly shut eyes immediately open in fear, her head shaking. Jiwoo pulls Haseul’s shirt up higher, “Please, I need to put pressure on it so it won’t keep bleeding!”

 

“Jiwoo, no!” Haseul gasps. 

 

Jiwoo feels her eyes burn with hot tears, “I’m gonna start,” she warns the girl, who closes her eyes as she feels the bandage start to curl around her waist, touching her injury. Jiwoo can see Haseul’s veins straining against her skin as she yells out. Jiwoo keeps her tears at bay as she finishes up her job. 

 

“I”m sorry,” she keeps saying over and over as one of her best friends experiences incredible pain. She knots the bandage and pulls Haseul’s shirt down as the girl cries with tears running down her cheek. 

 

“Should I stay with you…?” Jiwoo asks cluelessly. She looks out the diner window and spots the group. No matter how far they thought that had pushed the ghouls away, the ghouls just keep returning to their original path.

 

“The basement,” Jiwoo mumbles to herself, “Haseul.  _ Haseul _ , can you stand?” she asks the injured girl as she runs over to the jukebox, pushing it away to reveal the stairs. 

 

Haseul hears Jiwoo’s voice but pays no attention to it. Jiwoo rushes back over to Haseul. 

 

“Okay. Okay. I’m gonna… I’m gonna carry you like I did earlier, is that okay?”

 

Haseul’s quiet and it scares Jiwoo. She takes her silence as a ‘yes’. 

 

Jiwoo tries to lift the girl, trying hard not to touch her gash. The bandage is already soaked with blood. Jiwoo can see the ghouls getting closer and her heart begins to race with nervousness. Vivi runs through the diner’s doors and heads straight to Haseul, the tears already escaping from her eyes. 

 

“Oh no.”

 

“Vivi, help me bring her downstairs!” Jiwoo yells over the booming stomps. Vivi nods. As they get ready to lift Haseul, the other three girls burst in. 

 

“They’re coming,” Jinsol gulps.

 

“The basement!” Jiwoo screams, “Go to the basement!” 

 

The thundering hooves are getting loud. Jungeun helps with lifting Haseul and they’re the first four to descend down the stairs. 

 

Jinsol looks at Sooyoung, who seems indecisive whether she should go down with them or stay and defend her home. 

 

“Sooyoung,” Jinsol calls out. The brunette girl looks over, red eyes lined with tears. They stand there for a few seconds as the tears escape Sooyoung’s eyes.

 

“I’m sorry,” is all Jinsol says. Sooyoung looks at her, confused, and then she feels Jinsol’s hand grabbing onto her own.

 

Dragging Sooyoung, Jinsol makes a dash for the stairs, pushing the brunette into the darkness first. She shoves the jukebox back into place just as she hears the loud shattering of glass windows. Jinsol feels a cold body try to push past her. 

 

“No!” Sooyoung yells. 

 

Jinsol grabs her by the waist, pushing her backwards as Sooyoung struggles against her, completely losing her cool. 

 

“That’s my home!” she screams with a raspy voice. Jinsol keeps pushing her backwards as Sooyoung attempts to push upwards. It’s a tug-of-war between them.

 

“They’re gonna destroy it!” she cries. Jinsol wins the tug-of-war as they finally reach the basement. Jinsol lets go of Sooyoung with her chest heaving. The brunette girl makes a break for the stairs only to be stopped by Jiwoo, who wraps her arms around Sooyoung’s waist. 

 

The younger girl lays her head on Sooyoung’s back. 

 

“Don’t go up there, Sooyoung,” she mumbles in the hollow silence filled with Haseul’s ragged breaths.

 

“My home…” Sooyoung whimpers before fully breaking down. She crumbles onto the ground, Jiwoo following her with small whispers of apologies. Jinsol looks away from the two and over to the other pair at the other side of the room—their condition equally as heartbreaking as the other. Haseul’s head is placed on Vivi’s lap as the older one cries quietly, fingers running through the girl’s hair. 

 

“You’ll be fine,” Vivi murmurs with quivering lips, “You’re always fine.” 

 

Jungeun stands in the corner, her shoulder resting up against the wall. She catches Jinsol’s eyes. The older girl takes slow, dragging steps over to Jungeun. The shorter one wraps her arms around Jinsol’s shoulders and Jinsol takes comfort in Jungeun’s hold, her hands squeezing at Jungeun’s sides.

 

-

 

A couple days pass with their thirst for blood becoming more evident than it ever had been—Sooyoung especially. 

 

But the girl refuses to even get up. 

 

-

 

Jinsol and Jungeun are the first ones to ascend, and they aren’t surprised to see the entire diner in ruins. They have to push stones out of the staircase in order to actually reach the top. 

 

It looks like a tornado had come through. 

 

There’s a door frame, but barely any trace of the walls that had once been there. There’s rubble everywhere and shattered glass on the floor. They’re the ones to clear everything up and get animals for the others to feed on—seeing as they’re the ones who are in the best shape after the fight.

 

Haseul has gotten better after the first day of rest—her cut healing fast (as it does when you are a vampire). That calmed Vivi’s nerves, but she still never leaves Haseul’s side. It’s as if she’s scared that the wound might suddenly open up again. But it isn’t long until Haseul’s back to her normal self. 

 

Vivi’s always so cautious with her whilst Haseul just simply brags about how cool the scar on her hip looks.

 

“It looks badass,” Haseul says, lifting up her tattered shirt to show off the scar. Vivi pulls her shirt down, “Stop it.” 

 

And it only makes Haseul laugh.

 

-

 

Eventually, Sooyoung and Jiwoo are the only ones left in the basement. 

 

Jiwoo holds down a fox in front of Sooyoung, who stares blankly at the ground, her red eyes losing its color. 

 

“Sooyoung,  _ please _ ,” Jiwoo begs, ignoring the fox’s whimpers—something that would’ve bothered her before all of  _ this _ .

 

Sooyoung doesn’t reply. 

 

“ _ Sooyoung _ ,” Jiwoo says in a louder tone. 

 

Jiwoo doesn’t want to leave Sooyoung alone, scared that she might run away or hurt herself. She knows that what Sooyoung’s doing is killing her. 

 

“Please,” she whispers, eyes watering. 

 

There’s still no reply.

 

Jiwoo lets go of the fox. It runs off and up the stairs. 

 

Her lips quiver and she stands.

 

“ _ Fine _ ,” Jiwoo sniffles, staring down at the brunette girl who still makes no movement. 

 

Sooyoung moves her eyes to look up at the girl with golden eyes. After weeks of trying to get Sooyoung to communicate with her,  _ this  _ is the most reaction she’s gotten.

 

“I give up,” Jiwoo clenches her fists.  

 

Sooyoung doesn’t say anything. 

 

“I give up on trying to stop you from giving up,” she says exasperatedly. Jiwoo stares into the eyes that are no longer red—but instead, a dark grey. 

 

“It must be all poetic, huh? Dying with your home?” she asks quietly, her tone stone cold. 

 

There’s a flicker of pale red in the grey eyes. 

 

“Go ahead and die then. Die like your home.” 

 

Jiwoo knows she’s hitting Sooyoung’s nerves. That’s her plan. 

 

“I don’t care,” she says.

 

The dim red stays in Sooyoung’s eyes, a light flicker in them. Jiwoo takes a step back, only to be pulled back to where she had been.

 

“You’re a liar,” Sooyoung leans against Jiwoo for support as she holds the girl close, mouth next to Jiwoo’s ear, “You’re lying,” she says weakly. 

 

Jiwoo breathes out a sigh of relief as she turns around, “I know.” 

 

She wraps her arms around Sooyoung’s waist, a single tear escaping her eye. 

 

“I know.”

 

“You care,” Sooyoung whispers, “don’t you?”

 

“Yes,” Jiwoo nods, “I care. I care so much, Sooyoung—please, won’t you eat something?”

 

Sooyoung’s hand tightens against Jiwoo’s waist.

 

“Okay.”

 

—

 

They’ve been walking for days now. 

 

And Sooyoung still has no idea where the hell they’re going.

 

-

 

“Where are we going?” Sooyoung asks as Jiwoo picks up a stick and flings it against a tree. She gives Jiwoo a ‘ _ what the hell _ ?’ look and the shorter one simply shrugs her shoulders. 

 

Jinsol speaks over her shoulder, “Anywhere but where those stupid ghouls are.”

 

“So, we’re living in the  _ forest  _ now?” Sooyoung swats a fly away from her ear.

 

“I wouldn’t mind it,” Haseul says as she stares at a tree snake, intrigued by its seemingly pitch black eyes. 

 

Vivi, who’s holding her hand, sees the creature and pulls her away from it, “Yeah, well,  _ I  _ do,” she scowls, “Can’t we just live in the city?”

 

“And pretend to be human?” Jungeun shoots back, “Admit it, Vivi. It won’t be that easy.”

 

Vivi mutters something under her breath that makes Haseul laugh. 

 

Sooyoung rolls her eyes, “Oh my god,” she complains, voice high pitched, “Let’s just get, like, super rich and, like, buy a bunch of shit! That’d be  _ soooo  _ fun.” 

 

“Sounds like a plan,” Jinsol shrugs. 

 

“I’m down,” Jiwoo comments.

 

“I wasn’t serious!” Sooyoung yells in anger. Jiwoo giggles and Jinsol smirks, head turning as she shoots Sooyoung a look over her shoulder.

 

“We know you were, Sooyoung,” Jinsol says, “Nice valley girl accent, by the way.” 

 

The brunette girl blushes and crosses her arms, “ _ Whatever _ .”

 

“But, I  _ do  _ have a plan,” she stops walking at one small opening in the forest. 

 

The girls all gather around their leader. 

 

“Let’s just travel,” Jinsol suggests with a smile. 

 

Sooyoung narrows her eyes, “Just travel?” she questions.

 

Jinsol quirks an eyebrow, “You got a better idea, Ms. Grumpy Pants?”

 

“No,” Sooyoung grumbles. 

 

Jinsol smiles, “Then there’s that.”

 

“Cool,” Vivi nods. She then taps Sooyoung’s shoulder, “Sooyoung’s It,” she says cheekily before racing off. 

 

In a few seconds, Sooyoung’s the only one standing in the opening, all the other girls have run off to avoid getting tagged. 

 

“You’re all actual  _ children _ ,” she says out loud, knowing that all the girls can hear her despite their distance. She stands still for a minute before teetering on her feet, muttering, “I can’t believe I’m gonna do this.” 

 

She then takes off running.

 

Jinsol, who’s hiding in a tree, nearly falls off when she feels a tap on her shoulder. She turns to see the brunette girl with glowing red eyes smile at her. 

 

“You’re It.”

 

She takes off with a loud laugh, exclaiming that Jinsol’s tagged. 

 

In which Jiwoo yells back out, “You’re lying! She’s lying!” 

 

Jinsol’s smile increases in size as she stares across the forest. She feels a warmth spreading throughout her chest as she hears Sooyoung’s laughter and Jiwoo’s squeals. She hears a splash off to the side and then she hears Vivi yelling at Haseul for pushing her into the pond. She knows that the game of tag is over even though it had just begun and she takes a deep breath. 

 

She feels Jungeun’s presence next to her and she leans her head on the girl’s shoulder, hugging her arm.

 

“I could get used to this,” Jungeun says, lips pressed against Jinsol’s temple. Jinsol closes her eyes. 

 

“Me, too.”

 

They hear three more splashes before hearing their names being called. 

 

“Lovebirds, come join us!” 

 

Surprisingly, it’s Sooyoung who had exclaimed that. Jinsol glances at Jungeun, who smiles and holds her hand out to Jinsol to help her get down. It’s not long before all six of them are in the pond in all of their clothes, screaming and laughing with pure happiness. For a second, Jinsol stops in the middle of their splashing war and stares at the five girls in front of her, all of them with big smiles on their faces and laughs leaving their mouths.

 

_ Yeah,  _ Jinsol thinks,  _ I could really get used to this. _

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments are always appreciated!
> 
> come yell at me!  
> twitter: @sxftmelody  
> curiouscat: @sxftmelody


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